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Oh, the Ear Wax!
Is Your Toddler's Ear Wax a Bad Thing?
By Shannon McKelden
"Normally, the ear wax collects debris and then the wax and the dead ear cells slowly migrate to the outer part of the ear canal where they gradually will fall out," says Dr. David Goo, pediatric emergency physician at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. "When the wax falls or oozes out of the canal, it can then be wiped away."
Using a warm wash cloth works well for cleaning the outer areas of the ear. This also prevents anything from being poked into the ear, which can be dangerous. Putting things inside the ear to clean ear wax can actually push the wax farther into the ear.
"Do not attempt to clean the ears with [cotton swabs] – other than the outer portion of the ear you can see, not down into the canal – or other objects," Dr. Goo says. "This practice of putting things in the ear is most commonly responsible for pushing the wax down and causing the cerumen impactions. Things like hairpins, bobby pins and other objects to scoop out the wax can damage the ear canal and, more seriously, the ear drum."
It doesn't always take an excess of wax to cause problems in little ears. Some ear canals are narrow or even shaped in such a way that wax doesn't travel outward as it should.
"In this case, a normal amount of ear wax may plug up the ear canal," Dr. Brenski says. "Or if one has too much ear wax, one can develop an occlusion of the ear canal. This can lead to hearing loss if it is impacted onto the ear drum."
Signs of an impaction can be itching of the ear, buzzing or ringing in the ears, a feeling of fullness or pain (hard to identify in an infant or toddler), or hearing loss.